Walking with Rennyo: "Unobstructed Light" in the Wasans

(2) “Unobstructed Light” in the Wasans

Rennyo based his talk during the morning service on the six wasans beginning with the five inexplicabilities and concluding with the following lines:

Penetrating light unobstructed

throughout the ten quarters

pierces the darkness of ignorance,

and with one thought of joyousness

attainment of nirvana is finalized

He compared the gist of the six wasans with a passage describing Amida’s light penetrating darkness throughout the ten directions, and a poem of Honen Shōnin:

There is no place lacking moonlight,

but seen by watchers at night

wherever they may be.

The occasion was impressive for those who heard the discourse given by Rennyo on the previous evening, and again in the morning. Jitsunyo expressed deep gratitude and praise which he could not fully describe in words.

For a Buddhist sermon to be effective and of lasting relevance, it must be firmly established in the teaching and expound it accurately, while taking into account the capacities of its audience. I have often wondered what it must have been like to listen to a discourse given by Rennyo Shonin. Too often nowadays “Dharma talks” are vague, insufficient, or unfocused, and fail to draw attention to the most important matter, which is the attainment of true faith (shinjin). Needless to say, this was not Rennyo’s approach. He always drew on his vast knowledge of the sutras and the masters’ writings, urging his listeners to accept them in faith. The results, we are told, were “impressive.”

            In this instance, Rennyo bases his morning sermon on six wasans from the Hymns of the Dharma Masters. The “five inexplicabilities” referenced in these wasans are enunciated by Master T’an-luan in his Commentary on the Treatise as follows:

The sutras teach that there are five inconceivabilities: first, the inconceivability of the number of sentient beings; second, the inconceivability of karmic power; third, the inconceivability of the power of dragons; fourth, the inconceivability of the power of meditation; fifth, the inconceivability of the power of Buddha-dharma.

While any of these items is certainly likely to confound our powers of reason, it is the inconceivability of the power of the Buddha-dharma that is supreme, according to T’an-luan. In the eighth letter of Lamp for the Latter Ages, our Founder writes, “The Pure Land teaching is the inconceivable dharma-teaching.” It is the Pure Land Way, then, that is the most inconceivable of all the Buddha’s teachings.

In his sermon, Rennyo also quotes a poem by Honen Shonin, testifying to the universal nature of Amida Buddha’s light. Those who are still in doubt concerning the efficacy of the Primal Vow may ask, “If Amida’s light shines on everyone everywhere, why doesn’t everyone awaken to it?” The short answer is that everyone does awaken to it at some point; otherwise, Amida Buddha would not be Amida Buddha. The Anjin Ketsujo Sho tells us that all beings have been born, are being born, or will be born in the Pure Land. As for why all sentient beings do not immediately attain shinjin as soon as the light shines on them, the reason is that as bombu, we are simply blind to the “radiance of enlightenment” that surrounds us. This is stated in the Nirvana Sutra: “All sentient beings are constantly oppressed by immeasurable blind passions and lack the wisdom-eye; hence they cannot see.” As Master Genshin attested, “Although I too am within Amida's grasp, blind passions obstruct my eyes and I cannot see [the light]; nevertheless, great compassion untiringly and constantly illumines me.” In the same way, although samsara and nirvana are actually one and the same, we cannot possibly realize this in our current unenlightened state.

So, since we are blind from birth to the sun of wisdom that constantly shines upon us, how can we possibly find our way? Our only hope lies in reverently listening to and trusting in the words of Shakyamuni Buddha and the call of Amida, which is “the Name fulfilled in the Primal Vow,” Namu-amida-butsu. Only by obeying the voice of a trustworthy guide can the blind person proceed in safety. Likewise, only by heeding the encouragement and sincere call of our compassionate parents (Shakyamuni and Amida) can we who are full of base desires and blind passions finally be saved from the burning house of this Saha world. Then we realize that, like Master Genshin, we are constantly embraced by the Buddha’s light, even though we cannot see it. When we are born in the Pure Land, our wisdom-eyes will be opened, and we will perceive the Dharma-realm in all its resplendent glory.

Shakyamuni Buddha tells us in the Nirvana Sutra that the Dharma “surpasses conceptual understanding.” Accordingly, our Founder’s sacred writings are full of words negating measurement, such as “indescribable,” “inconceivable,” “inexplicable,” and “inexpressible.” In short, the Dharma cannot be contained or qualified by our limited, unenlightened minds. For this very reason, we are constantly warned against undertaking practice and establishing faith while depending on our own understanding or conscious effort. In Jodo Shinshu, “No working is true working.” It is enough for us to know that Amida’s Vow is true, and unfailingly brings us to the Pure Land. To hear this and accept it, being free of doubt and calculation, is to realize the “one thought-moment of shinjin and joy.” When we reverently embrace the Tathagata’s teaching, we are liberated by it, and our joy is overwhelming. In fact, it simply cannot be fully expressed in words. Like Jitsunyo, we may attempt to convey our gratitude and praise, and fall short. However, this only serves to further increase our indebtedness to the Buddha who saves us.

The light of compassion illumines us from afar;
Those beings it reaches, it is taught,
Attain the joy of dharma,
So take refuge in Amida, the great consolation.

Hymns of the Pure Land (CWS p. 327)

Walking with Rennyo: Nembutsu Recitation

(1) NEMBUTSU RECITATION

Dotoku, from the village of Kanjuji, visited Rennyo on New Year's Day in the second year of Meio. “How many years have you reached, Dotoku?” Rennyo asked. “I urge you to recite the nembutsu. When it is recited in self-power, it is meant that the number of times it is repeated so much merit is accumulated toward deliverance by the Buddha. When it is recited in other-power, it is meant that at the instant moment of total reliance one is received by the Buddha. The nembutsu following this recitation is always, namuamidabutsu, namuamidabutsu, expressing heartfelt joy in gratitude for release by the Buddha's strength, the other-power. The one moment by which we rely totally on Amida continues unbroken throughout our lives and certain birth in the Pure Land is assured.

In Jodo Shinshu, reciting the Name (Jpn. nembutsu) alone does not automatically ensure birth in the Pure Land; shinjin is essential. One of Master Rennyo’s favorite phrases, which he inherited from the Founder Shinran, is the “one thought-moment of entrusting.” This moment is the defining event in the spiritual life of a Shinshu follower, at which all attempts to “earn” deliverance fall away, and one is brought to rely solely on the Buddha’s power alone. Any nembutsu recited after this crucial point, therefore, comes naturally as an expression of gratitude for the Buddha’s salvation. It is for this reason that those who recite nembutsu while being carried by the power of Amida's great Vows recognize their indebtedness to the Buddha, while those who recite the nembutsu while relying on their own power fail to grasp the true import of the Primal Vow. Master Rennyo clearly understood this distinction, and faithfully transmitted it to his followers.

Asking ourselves the question, “Why do we say the nembutsu?” may reveal our own state of mind, and help us to determine whether our shinjin is genuine or not. Do we recite the nembutsu merely because we learned it from our parents? Out of habit? To try and calm our minds? Or do we recite it out of a genuine sense of gratitude? Does our recitation arise from the joy of the Dharma that saves us, because we “wish to respond to the great benevolence” of the Buddha? Of course, not every utterance can or need be joyful; but nembutsu that is truly great practice can only arise from the “sincere and joyful mind” of the Primal Vow. It is never forced or contrived.

If our nembutsu recitation is conditioned by worldly aims (wealth, health, pleasure), bound by dependency on our own mind of self-power, or restrained by an artificial religiosity, we might do well to listen deeply to the compassionate intent of the Primal Vow. If the pure mind of Other Power is found to be lacking, we should seek first to resolve our doubts and settle our own shinjin. Then, once the Name is firmly fixed in our hearts, and its “marvelously mysterious” working accomplished in us, the nembutsu will come spontaneously from our lips—strong, full of confidence and gratitude, and in tune with the “nirvanic sounds of bliss” that pervade the land of happiness.

“The meaning of the nenbutsu lies in its freedom from contrivance, because it is imponderable, indescribable, and inconceivable,” the Master said.

Tannisho, Chapter X

A Little Bit About Myself

To satisfy the curiosity of my readers, I would like to share some information regarding who I am and why I came to embrace the teaching of Jodo Shinshu. It is difficult to condense years of spiritual development into a few sentences, but I will here make the attempt.

Like many American children, I was raised in a Protestant Christian home. However, after reading through the entire Bible as a teenager, I realized that Christianity could not resolve my personal life-and-death problem after all. So I began to investigate other religions, looking into everything from Judaism to Hinduism to Baha'i. After years of going from pillar to post, meeting with plenty of dead-ends and nearly giving up on religion altogether, I finally found a refuge in the person and dharma of Shakyamuni Buddha, who I came to realize was the only figure in all of history that I could follow without reservations. Even so, I might not have continued long in the Buddhist Way had I not encountered my good companion (zen-chishiki), Shinran Shonin. Reading the Preface to his Kyogyoshinsho for the first time, I knew that here was a man who had not only found the true light, but could lead me to it as well. It was the turning point in my spiritual life, directing me away from the dark realm of doubt and unbelief, toward the bright world of Amida Buddha’s salvation. At the same time that I found myself in the embrace of my compassionate Parent, I lost my taste for any religious teaching other than the nembutsu. While I remain as I have always been—a basically ignorant person with a wandering mind and sordid desires—I am now grateful to be included in the Buddha’s saving work.

A conservative in matters of doctrine, I believe that Jodo Shinshu is to be correctly understood within the framework of orthodox Mahayana, and oppose the admixture of religious modernism and non-Buddhist philosophies with the true teaching. I cannot understand how people today can honestly read Tannisho and yet persist in making such absurd claims as "Amida Buddha is only a symbol," "we are born into the Pure Land here-and-now," "great compassion consists of endeavoring in social work," and so on. However, I believe the best way to address these and similar divergences is to constantly point the way to the words and deeds of our Dharma Masters, which are like bright lamps shining in the dark night of birth-and-death, urging us to give ourselves up to the working of the Primal Vow.

I hope this blog encourages readers to listen carefully to the Jodo Shinshu teaching, and hear the call of Amida Buddha, who always stands ready to deliver on his Promise of assurance in this life and Buddhahood in the life to come.

Namu-amida-butsu.